Towel-cabinet.



6. A. STEINER.

TOWEL CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED IAN.3,I9I1.

1,287,783. Patented Dec. 17, 1918.

G. A. STEINER.

TOWEL CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED 1AN.3,19|7.

1,287,783. f Patented De@.17,1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

G. A. STEINER.

TOWEL CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED 1Au.a.19n.

Patented Dec.- 1T, 1918.

which the following isfa specification.;

ADoLPH- STEINER, QF sans@ GEORGE oronrnnr cronica. j

To all wkomz't may concermff Be it knownothat; 1,GE0RGE5A.- vS' .rrJ-INI;R affcitizen of the United States,`resi dent .off Salt-LakeCit'y; 'county of SaltzLake, VState of Utah, have inventedcertai'n ne'W;2LI1 l 1.15%-A ful Improvements fin :'Ifowel-Cabinets,4

towels, one at a time.

` part of this specification,I

l'A further object isto-dispen'se followers and the-like, which createtoo great a pressure on the' towels, and interferewith the one-byf-'oneowithdrawal thereof.

A further `Objectis to yprovide a.; cabinet of` simple,l economical c0I1Structi m,which will occupy but little spacev on the wall and can be manufactured for av comparatively small expense. Other objectsof the invention willappear from the following detailed description.

The invention consists generally:.inl various constructions `and .combina-tions, all as hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.y y

Inthe accompanying' drawings vforming y Figure l is a perspective view of a towel cabinet embodyin my inventioir -Fig.2 is a detall sectional view, showing the manner ofmountin'g the towel Stringer in the cabinet,

F 3 is a detail view, showing them'eans for supporting thetowel Stringer on the rear Wall ofthe cabinet, Fig. 4 s a detail-view showing, 3 meas for vconnectingthe end of the Stringer to the'cabinet, F 5 is a perspective view of'amodiied form of cabinet, Fig. `6 is a similar view, showing the spring armsl mounted on the back yof the cabinet near one end, F 7 is aperspectiveview showing a pair ofarrns', one on each side of thecabinet and with the rigid rod of the Stringer o rn itted, Fie: 8,l ,isa detail SeC'tiQnl vev, Sho ing the preferred manner vof connecting the Stringer `"to the cabinet when the rod is oooioooid; Figs. 9' and 10 are detail viewsoftlielo'ops provided on the 'towelsto receive the Stringer,

flange 9 and 'holding' the tubefin a showing amodiof the stri-nger'.-

Fig. ;1l is a detail View, {iodo-form of-rod onfthe end f fIn'the drawing, thecabinet and?) theside walls or wings thereof, projecting outwardly .from the, back ign substantially parallel relation. The lower ends of these wings are cutaway sothat when a bundle of towels is suspended between them thelower' portion ofthe towels w-illbe visible andiniposition to 4be easily grasped by 'they 'plersori desiring to use one.

In the back Of 4 is provided, having yguard rails5 on each side ,thereof and a'pl'ate 6 is secured `ov er said recess and provided with a verticalslot 7 which registers"`with the recess. VA tube 8 has a flange 9 at one end and isadaptedfto.

2 representsthe backof e@ cabinet a. vertical recessl slip into the recess l and slide, down intotheslotr 7, the edgesof the slotengagingthe Position pro] ectrng outwardly` 'and fdownwadly, as indicated in`Fig.' "o'fbf the` draw i1 ig.1 `rvThe towels 1 0 havejgromets tlereimp-eferably in thecenter at one end,and the tube is threaded"thro ugh fthese`,` the weight of the towels beingsupported bythe tube when it is; inserted 'intothe socket in the back of the cabinet. A Stringer 12 of Wire or other suitable material is provided, on one end .of which the, tube' 8 is mounted, while the opposite end is threaded through the towel-s at the laundry Vand has an eye to receive" the padlock 13, which prevents the towels from being removed when the. device is in use. This flexible Stringer hangs down below the cabinet, as indicated in Eig. 1, and a snap hook 14 is preferably provided to engage the'padlock and isfastened to 'the cabinetbysuitable means, suchv.as the screw eye 15. head may befo'rmed on 1 theend of the stringer'to prevent =the tube from being separated.tlerefrnm. practice, the towels will slide freely on the tfnbe, which is preferably inclined forwardly and downwardly, as indicated in Fig. 2, `s` o that when a person rasps the oooorooworoo oomoooa ,from ofo ioobiooo it`s 1 1ppe`r end Will Slide freely on the 'tube ooi-oil, yio foo':toooo no ooooood oh'oroofood will then drop down ,on the 'Stringer as a .goidoooi vvo pomo whoilro ioooo bo ooovooioo'oly used, and', after such use, the towel, when doopioofd, will 'olid'oooofo 011 the, Stringer At loo kbending the ends,

'yielding pressure,

pended in that position untill all the towels have been -used and the bundle is removed from the cabinetfor the Substitution of a "clean lot.

It will be noted`that the weight of the towels is carried by the tube, which has suffi; cient rigidity to support a ackage cftowels, hence the pull of the soi ed towels on the Stringerl will not have any effect on the removal of a clean towel from the cabinet.

To hold the'towels in place and facilitate their one-by-one removal, I prefer to pro-` vide curved arms 16 formed preferably by of a rod 17 forwardly and downwardly, said rod having bearings near said arms in aframe 18 that is secured -by suitable means to the back of a cabinet. s A s ring 19 is mounted on said rod and tensioned to hold the curved arm 16 against the outer' face of the bundle of towels with a and this pressure is at one point onlv on each side ofthe center' of the towels and thereby distinguishes from a follower sometimes used in devices of this kind for pressing the towels together; It has been found, however, that a follower exerts pressure over such a large area that there is considerable tendency for several towels to stick together 'and be withdrawn from the cabinet, while by having pressure arms bearing only on a small surface of the towels, this tendency is entirely avoided, a quick jerk, such as a person usually would exert-on a towel, withdrawing the forward one from beneath the arms without disturb ing the other towels 0f the bundle. When all the towels have been withdrawn, the attendant will lift the tube out of its socket, detach the lower .end of the Stringer from its supporting hook, and the bundle of soiled towels may then be substituted for a clean lot and the change made easily and expeditiously.

In Fig. 5 I have shown a cabinethaving a rear wall 20,'side walls 21 and a lower wall or shelf 22. The tube for the Stringer, instead of passing throughthe center of the towels, is inserted :through eyelets or gromets 28 provided in one corner, a socket 24 being mounted in the corresponding corner of the cabinet intovwhich the flanged end of" the tube, corresponding to the one previously described, is inserted. The other end of the bundle of towels rests upon the bottom or shelf 22of the cabinet and the adjacent wall 21 preferably hasa hand-hole opening 24 to permit a person to grasp the end of the foremost towel and remove it from the cabinet. A loop 25 is'preferably mounted at 26 on the wall 21 and a spring 27 is mounted on said loop for yieldingly holding it against the ends of the towels. This loop is preferably located near the upper corner of the towels opposite the location of the tube and stringer.

InFig. 6 a similar cabinet is shown, with spring-pressed arms 28 mounted on brackets 29 which project forwardly from the back of the cabinet` instead of being mounted on the end wall, as in Fig. 5. I show also a strip of sand paper or mounted on the back of the cabinet, between which and the spring-pressed arms the towels are held, this strip forming a friction surface for holding the towels in place, particularly when near the bottom of the pile. In other respects this cabinet is substantially the same as the one shown in Fig,l 5; that is, as far as the tube and Stringer 'areconcerned, and their position in the cabinet and the towels hang vertically in the cabinet, resting on oneI longitudinal edge which contacts with the -floor or shelfI at the bottom of the cabinet.

In Fig. 7 I have illustrated another type, consisting of aback 31,.side walls and 38 and a bottom 34:. This bottom and the adjacent wallarecut away at 35 to expose the lower corner yof thebundle of towels and permit them to be grasped, one by one, .by the user. Spring-pressed loops 36 are mounted on the walls 32 and 33, preferably `near the top of the cabinet, and bear on the bundle of towers with a. yielding pressure.

I prefer to provide the towels with loops 87, preferably metallic, on one end of the towels near the center, so that' when the towels are arranged in a pile these loops` will all coincide with one another, and are of suiicient size to receive a flexible Stringer 38 on one end of which a button or washer 39 is mounted for entering a socket 40 in the rear wall of the cabinet, the other end of the Stringer being attached to the cabinet in substantially the same manner as shown in Fig. 4. In this cabinet the towels are supported entirely by the bottom shelf 34, the flexible Stringer having no supporting function for the clean towels, but merely serving as a from being stolen,onebyone, from the cabinet. Each of the cabinets is preferably provided with a hook 41 and a flexible connection 42, so that the wall of the cabinet will engage the spring-pressed arms or loops and hold them in their retracted position, while the towels are being placed in the cabinet.

Instead of using the loops 87 for sti-inging the towels, I may employ one as indicated at 48 in Fig. 10, the loop being elongated instead of round, ybut preferably fastened to the towel in substantially the same manner as shownin Fig. 9. The mounting of the loops in this way on the towels has an advantage in providing a larger usable area for each towel than where an eyelet or gromet is placed in the end or corner of the towel itself, and towels equipped with these loops, which are entirely outside the edge of emery cloth 30' vguide and a means to prevent the towels memes Stringer 38 is att-ached. The opposite end of this rod is preferably curled to form a `flat flange or washer by making a series of convolutions in the rod, one within the other, and in the same plane and adapted to slip into the slot in the socket in the back of the cabinet, as described with reference to the previous figures. c

I have shown the cabinets provided with side walls or wings, but these may be omitted, the spring arms being preferably mounted at the top of the rear wall and overhanging the upper portion of the towels, bearing lightly thereon with sutli'cient pressure to hold the towels in place but allowing the foremost one to be readily removed with a slight twitch or pull.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination, with a cabinet comprising a rear wall against which the bundle of towels is placed, said rear wall having a socket formed therein, of 'a Stringer having a washer or button to on which Stringer the towels of the bundle arestrung, the other end of the Stringer having means for connection with the cabinet, and spring-pressed arms positioned to bear on the to-wels and exert pressure for a limited area thereon, whereby the towels may be removed, one by one, from the cabinet, the foremost towel being pulled out without disturbing the other towels.

2. A towel cabinet having a rear wall, a flexible Stringer mounted at one end on said wall and having means for connection at its other end with the lower portion of the cabinetand hanging loosely in front of the cabinet to support`the used towels as they are drawn released, a frame mounted on said rear wall and -projecting outwardly therefrom above the towels, and Spring-pressed arms carried by said frame and having outwardly and downwardly curved outer towel of the bundle for yieldingly holding it in place thereon.

3. A towel cabinet having arear Wall, a flexible Stringer mounted thereon at one end and having an inflexible section at said end for supporting the towels verticallyn the enter said socket and v of towels,

forwardly from the cabinet andportions to bear on the,

cabinet', the other end of said Stringer having means for attachment with a Support and forming a flexible loop in front of the cabinet to receive the soiled towels as they are withdrawn therefrom, one at a time, arms supported on said rear wall and forwardly and downwardly curved to bear upon the outer towel of the bundle, a spring for holding said arms with a yielding ressure against the outer towel, and means frdr holding said arms out of contact with the against the tension of said spring.

4. A towel cabinet comprising a rear wall having a socket formed therein, a tube having a head formed on one end to enter said socket, said tube being forwardly and downwardly yinclined and adapted tosupport a bundle of towels placed one against they other, means forming a continuation of said tube on which the soiled towels are carried when removed from vsaid tube, and means pressing lightly on the outer towel ot' the bundle and permitting Said outer towel to be pulled oil the bundle without disturbing the other towels.

5. The combination, with a wall having a socket therein, of. a rigid member having a head to enter said socket, Said member projecting outwardly and downwardly thereyfrom and forming a support for a bundle a flexible Stringer forming a continuation of said rigid member and whereon the towels are suspended when removed from said member, and means bearing on the outer towel of the bundle for holding it in place but permitting it to be readily detached from the bundle. .l

6.' The combination, with a cabinet havin back and side walls and an open front, cfg a Stringer having means for mounting it 1 the rear wall of the cabinet and including-a rigid rod and a wire forming a continuation thereof, Sa'id rod forming a Support for the towels suspended vertically thereon, and spring arms mounted Hon the wall of said cabinet to bear on the upper portions of the-towels and yield when the lower portion of a towel is grasped to allow it to be moved from its normal position on said rod to its using position on said wire. In witness whereof, Ihave hereunto set my hand this 26th day of December, 1916.

GEORGE ADOH STEINER. Witnesses:

l(3i-miams G. PARKS, Jos. A. Rennen.

towels 

